By-Tor

Obviously that Breitling is a cousin of this.

I totally agree... miniscule dial flaws wouldn't bother me. SELs are much more important. SELs was one of the biggest issues why I wanted a gen Steelfish. The rep SELs look all wrong... and that's the exact reason why I adore the Skyland v2. It has PERFECT SELs... 100% like the gen... shape, recess, angle, etc. Skyland and Fish both have very characteristic "recessed" SELs. Very, very important detail on watches for me. Different priorities for different people I guess. Rep Skyland. Gen Fish.

Just switched to my Pepsi GMT. Have a good Sunday!

@BROM: Your gen Fish looks great on a rubber. I'm wearing this Breit now.

Beautiful! Perfect lume dots!!!

Yes the rep SELs will never be 100% perfect. Here's my gen 16710. My WM9 v2 with v1 SELs. Not perfect. The correct recess is there but the fit is only like 95%. Personally, I'm extremely happy with my WM9. I will never, ever part with it. It's an amazing Sub replication and I doubt they will ever top it. But if this is not good enough, then the reps are not for you. Not saying this in hostile manner at all... just a friendly advice.

@Mike: Great Shelby! Are the old Fastback Mustangs expensive in the US these days? In my eyes, it's the most beautiful US-made car ever.

That's amazing. I mean the hand skills that some people have. If I tried something even remotely like that with my big clumsy hands it would be a disaster.

That's actually very cool. The dial is much nicer than on the MBW version. That HUGE crown has to go though.

There will be something to replace ETA. Maybe Sellita. Maybe something from our Chinese friends. It's not a big deal. Automatic cheaper watches will always be available. I'm not a big movement guy, really. Unless the movement has a complication. That's perhaps why I never understood the fact that Rolex 16610 and 16710 are priced roughly the same (when the other has just a basic 3135 movement and the 3185 is simple but genius complication). Chinese replicated the 7750, and it's actually quite amazing how few problem reports there have been. They seem to be very, very reliable. I don't have any doubts that the Chinese ETA-clones can be just as good (as long as they make the parts widely available).

This seems to be a Rolex day. This is my watch for Friday.

I never quite got the Explorer I. It's a classic model but the design is very mundane. It's probably not ExpI's fault though... it's just that all watch brands in the world have copied that particular design. My wife's father has a Seiko that looks exactly like ExpI. Or Orient, Citizen, whatever it is...

SO nice watches guys. Keep 'em coming! And your offers and suggestions are much appreciated. I thought most Blackbirds have the "pearl not centered" issue. Or was it just a temporary QC thing?

That's what I thought. The original paint is pretty much the only option for dark cars. Repainted ones will look like sh*t (if the paint job is not done professionally, using ovens etc. Read = expensive). In that sense white and grey cars are better and easier.

@Euno: Good to see you man. Your E31 is amazingly beautiful. That's exactly the car I'd like to have. Maybe one day... PS: I love the paint. Is it original?

That's devastating. I can relate to the loss, at least somewhat... as our summer house was burnt to the ground back in 1987. And of course my parents weren't insured it properly. The house was built my my grandmother's grandfather. So it had lots of emotional value for everyone. All the best!

Agreed 100%. We have plenty of members here with very expensive gens. Many of them say that they would have never purchased the gens without having some rep experience first. The "gateway drug" is very true. I have bought gens of all my favorite reps.

Yeah I know hackr... but I have the thickness thing covered with my Skyland v2. Because I want to own only very few watches I want to have some variation. Thus, I need a Breit with the Pilot bracelet. Remember, I currently have only 4 reps. Navitimers... I dunno... if only they had a great rep of the Fighters edition then this would be a no-brainer.

Great shots guys! Keep 'em coming! I've given up finding a great BCE v2 already... so Blackbird it might be. Mmm that Blackbird looks amazing. Any wrist shots on a bracelet?

@hackr: That's an absolute STUNNER man. Appreciate the offer mate... and I actually DID consider the Seawolf... great reps... but it's not too much of a departure from the Fish. And I have that style covered. @Mike: I know the SOH is an amazing rep. But for some reason that doesn't do it for me. I dunno what it is... maybe it's too Rolex-like somehow. Not that there's anything wrong with Rolex but... Anyone selling their BCE v2 in EU?

I'm flattered for TAG and Ebel guys. I guess it's partially true as my Discovery & Link reviews were pretty popular back in their day and probably helped the dealers sell these models a bit. Other than that, I'm not really attracted to any particular brand specially. Rolex, Ebel, TAG Heuer, Breitling and Omega all have watches that I like a lot. All these brands have very unattractive watches too. It's true that I have a soft spot for Ebel because I think the 1911 Chronograph has always been a stunner, and never got the respect it deserves. And Ebel has the most beautiful ladies' models bar none. If my wife were into watches I'd buy her a gen. I think Rolex goes to Freddy because I don't think he owns any other brands. At least I have never seen him wearing anything else than Rolex. Ubi has AP's, Omegas and even IWC's. UN definitely to Robbie and Doxa to Nanuq.

These are trusted dealers. Buy with confidence. Welcome to RWG!

Ok guys, here's another useless post. Here's the deal: I traded my both awesome Explorer II's... yes even the white franken. I don't know why but I need to shake things up a little every now and then. I was going to buy yet another gen but after I opened a savings bank account for my son, I simply can't justify putting several K's to a watch anymore. I have enough of them. My kid is going to get all the spare money from now on... first things first. And to be honest, I'm just as happy with the reps (as long as I get my drug regularly = new watches every now and then). But I've gotten the Breitling bug and now I want another Breitling. This time with a Pilot bracelet. Navitimer is out... the old reps simply aren't quite up there. The TT version was amazing though but I don't want a gold watch. One from the Bentley line would be great but I guess the reps are even worse than Navitimers? Blackbird with all brushed finish is definitely my #1 favorite... I love the watch but I don't trust the seconds at '3 model rep. Whenever I'm buying a new rep I always think that I'm going to keep it for good. I have only a few reps left... only a select few have truly been keepers for me... but the ones that I have now are going to get a ETA 7750 transplant when/if they ever fail. If you buy a seconds at '3 model, there's no guarantees that you can ever source a spare movement for it later. I know it's a bit silly as reps aren't that expensive... some people might even think that they're disposable toys, but not me... I'm a practical person. Some of the reps that I've had for a long time are very special, like my old school SMP Chrono. It's good to know that there's a "plan b" available if the watch fails. That's why I have always preferred reps with the basic 12-9-6 layout. I wouldn't mind trying the original Breitling BCE v2... I mean the one with great dial... white lume tabs (and supposedly great bracelet), and "not as nice" date font. I haven't seen these for sale at all. I wouldn't mind buying one in mint condition (if someone just had one to sell in EU). I've been looking for the original BCE v2 for 6 months now... and I've only seen some bad beat up ones. If I can't find one, I'm probably getting the BCE B01. The only issue with the B01 is that it's so blingy and I'm not sure if I'd like it, long term. Most of my friends sold them quite rapidly. Or maybe I should wait for the new 42mm PO? Or perhaps you could talk to me to the Blackbird anyway? I need another watch but I'm not sure what to get. All I know that the watch fever is raising again. Thanks guys. PS: Feel free to post pics of your Blackbirds, B01's, Bentleys, BCE v2's.

Great watches again guys! @Robbie: I love that DJ. Did you ever own a rep counterpart of that? This watch gets the most wrist time of all my watches. Wearing it today again. A bit different wrist shot this time.

This is a classic!